1: Am Surg  2001 Feb;67(2):165-7 

Popliteal artery injury associated with knee dislocations.

Martinez D, Sweatman K, Thompson EC.

Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Wake Forest University Medical Center,
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.

Since the Vietnam War experience we have known that there is a high association
between knee dislocations and popliteal artery injuries. In an effort to improve
the quality of care we asked whether every patient with a knee dislocation needs
an arteriogram. This is a retrospective chart review of all injured patients who
presented to Louisiana State University Health Science Center with knee
dislocations between January 1, 1993 and March 31, 1998. Twenty-one patients met
the study criteria. There were no deaths in this series. Twelve patients
presented with normal palpable pulses. Nine of these 12 patients underwent an
arteriogram. There was only one abnormal arteriogram (intimal defect) in this
group. None of the patients who presented with normal pulses were operated on.
There were no in-hospital complications from this nonoperative management. In
the group of patients with either diminished pulses or no pulses arteriograms
were performed on all patients. Fifty-five per cent of these arteriograms were
abnormal, and one-third of these patients (two) were taken to the operating room
for repair. In the group of patients who present with knee dislocations and
normal peripheral vascular examination arteriograms are not helpful.

PMID: 11243542 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]